Critically Reading Race on Television: Implications for Leadership toward Democratic Education

Abstract

Media, particularly television, are increasingly prevalent in contemporary life and yet the pedagogical potential of this resource remains largely untapped. Racism, insidious in its manifestations, is frequently the subject of media spectacle that tends to fixate, frame, and fracture discourse about this vital issue. This study¹ examines how three focus groups of high school students interpreted race as it was depicted in a televised town meeting following a brutal hate crime. Data drawn from transcription and analysis of student dialogue are situated around three themes: insolubility of racism, racial affiliation, and individualism. Implications are drawn from these findings and situated within a particular view of a democratic society, one rooted in developing the critical capacity of autonomous individuals, the shared intercourse of ideas, the ability to communicate those ideas freely and to diverse populations, the commitment to a shared public ethic, and a movement toward a society of judging actors. Processes are considered for educational leaders intent on reading visual media toward democratic ends.

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